3 Yuan Twenty-Four Solar Terms-Stories, Summer Solstice

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms series draws from the huá agricultural calendar codified as early as the Han dynasty and inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016 — the impetus for the People's Bank launching this multi-year commemorative program. Summer Solstice (Xiàzhì) marks the longest day and the point at which yang energy peaks before yielding to yin, a transition treated in classical texts as agriculturally critical for rice paddy management across southern China.